Sweetness Conflict Pain Loyalty Adventure I dunno
by DrenchedinWine
Summary: my first fic...Metatron is back and tries to use Will to kill Lyra. after amber spyglass, but totally unrelated story. 2 more chapters up! REVIEW!! please!
1. Lure

Disclaimer: I didn't make up Lyra & Will etc. all that is Philip Pullman etc. you get the point.

Setting: This story takes place after "The Amber Spyglass," but is rather unrelated to it...so don't look for continuity. Here's what things are like at the start of my story:  

Will and Lyra are both in Lyra's world, and none of that stuff with Will and Lyra separating has happened, and daemons do not get sick from staying in other worlds.  However, using the subtle knife still create specters and holes into the abyss and leak dust, so all the windows created by the knife are closed.  Lyra can still read the alethiometer, and Will has not broken the subtle knife.  Mary is back in Will's world and is taking care of Will's mother in her flat.  Also, after Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter try to force Metatron into the abyss, Metatron manages to survive and fly out of the pit, bringing the dead Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter up with him. My story starts here. Metatron is very...um..."displeased" and is trying to kill Lyra to get revenge on Mrs. Coulter.

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After recovering quickly from Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter's futile attempt at his life, Metatron soared painfully but mightily into the night sky, bitterly mocking the pitiful humans lying crumpled by the crevice. "Ha," he laughed, "I don't die THAT easily. Fools!" But his mirth and mockery was dark and brooding. His fury was greatly kindled against Lyra's parents. To think that a pair of measly humans nearly succeeded in tricking him! The impudence was simply infuriating. Metatron flew in angry tight circles glowing red against the pure black sky, unable to find an outlet for his anger, seeing as the two people whom he most wanted to hurt were already dead. He was about to burst from his uncontainable rage, when it suddenly dawned on him. Of course. Lyra. It made perfect sense. Since he couldn't kill her parents again, he'd just kill their daughter instead. After making her suffer, of course. Metatron soared in roaring triumph through the clouds and laughed with perverted glee.

He needed to come up with a plan. Lyra and that boy with the powerful knife...Will Parry, were always together, and that presented a possible problem. Even though they were only mortal not-quite-children, and he was an immense and ancient angel, he did not wish to fight both of them at once, especially not that fierce boy who had killed the angel working for him before. If Metatron attacked Lyra and Will while they were together, they would both fight fiercely for each other and really cause too much trouble for his liking. Metatron suddenly found the solution to his dilemma as he passed through yet another layer of storm clouds. It was obvious. If he somehow managed to manipulate the situation to separate Will and Lyra for a little while, he would be able to fight one of them at a time instead of both at once. Metatron could kill Lyra with Will gone temporarily…no…wait, but Will would return too quickly for him to truly kill her in the painful way that he longed to. So his only solution was to somehow capture Will instead, drug him to avoid fighting, and take Will back to a place where Metatron would have more control over the situation. Because of course, Lyra would follow Will no matter where he went. And if Will was with Metatron, Lyra would be lured to him soon enough. And in his stronghold, both children would be entirely helpless when faced with Metatron's massive power. Yes, that was perfect. Even more perfect because he had just thought of yet another little twist to add to his plan…something involving Will, that would really make Lyra's death all too perfect for him.  Metatron's warped face cracked slowly into a diabolic grin as he set his plan of their destruction into motion.

This is my first fanfic.  I know it's short, but there will be MANY more chapters to follow!  I promise! So please tell me what you think!


	2. Separation

Lyra and Will lay asleep next to each other on the ground with their daemons curled up next to them.  All was still except for the cool damp breeze that rustled the moonlit grass across the plain.  Lyra occasionally made soft sleep-sounds or smiled a little unconsciously, because she was having a pleasant dream.  Will however, was dreaming of something else.

_Will…Will…_

_Will heard the voice of his dead father and turned around in the mist, futilely searching for him._

_Will…Will...Will…_

_Where was he?  Why couldn't he find his father?  Will took a stumbling step forward into the blinding fog.  He could just barely make out a faint outline of a face before him.  If only he could just reach through that mist…_

Will stiffened in his sleep and gently removed his arms from Lyra's shoulders without waking her from her slumber.  He sat up and turned his head from side to side, as if searching for something.  But his eyes remained shut.  Will stood up unsteadily and sleepwalked away across the plain.  Kirjava likewise left Pan silently and followed Will in her sleep.

_Will…_

_The insistent voice echoed through his head from all directions…just out of reach…Will continued to feel his way uncertainly in the dense cloudy air, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice.  There.  Just at the edge of the fog…Almost there…His father was waiting…_

Pan felt a slight nudge and opened his eyes halfway and jolted awake.  Where were Kirjava and Will?  Then Pan saw them walking clumsily, only about twenty feet away.  He quickly sprung up and followed them to see where they were going.  He stealthily kept close behind the two sleepwalkers, not wanting to wake them, but wanting to make sure that they weren't going to accidentally harm themselves.  Suddenly, Pan felt a shock of horror.  Will and Kirjava were about to walk onto a great chariot of fire!  

Several hundreds of feet away, Lyra felt a shock from Pantalaimon and woke up suddenly, startled to find herself utterly alone on the grass.  "Pan!  Will!  Kirjava!  Where are you?" she yelled out across the dark empty plain.  Lyra immediately rose to her feet and turned about, trying to locate them.  Then, to her horror, she saw a great chariot of fire glowing vividly against the blackness of the field and night sky in the distance.  And barely visible, right next to the fearsome chariot, she could just barely make out the shapes of a boy and two animals.  "No!" she whispered frantically as she tore across the plain towards the figures that were simply too far away.

"No!" thought Pan simultaneously as he jumped towards Kirjava and bit her lightly on the tail.  Kirjava's eyes instantly snapped open.  Much to their bewilderment, Will and Kirjava groggily found themselves in standing mere feet away from this furiously flaming chariot with no idea of how they had gotten there…it looked so familiar…Metatron!  A cold shock of dread coursed through Will's veins as he recalled the last time he had seen this same chariot racing down towards him, its owner's evil eyes filled with hate…

Will's senses immediately sharpened and he put his hand to the hilt of the knife, but it was too late.  From somewhere hidden inside the chariot, an arrow dipped in sleeping potion fired out and struck him in the chest.  Will's eyes widened in shock before falling shut.  Kirjava's eyes also started to droop, and both she and Will slowly collapsed onto the ground in a heavy slumber.  Pan immediately growled with loyal rage, and charged at whatever was inside the chariot, claws and teeth slashing and tearing at everything within his reach.  Metatron roared in anger at Pan's savage scratches, and gave him a sound punch to the side of his head, knocking him out.

The cold night air numbed Lyra's parched throat as she continued to sprint breathlessly across the grass.  In horror, she watched as Will fell to the ground, silhouetted by vivid orange flames.  "Will!" she cried, gasping for air, forcing herself to run faster if that was even possible.  "Will!" she desperately cried again, as her mind tried to fend off the inevitable dreaded question: _Was he dead?  A sob choked her already searing lungs and parched throat, and tears caused her to stumble blindly towards what was now a blurry sparkling orange glow.  The crying was making it hard for her to breathe, but she ran and ran anyway, wheezing and choking.  She gave a little cry as she felt something touch Pan, and sensed his pain and distress.  _Oh no, Pan, not you too!_  She thought pleadingly, and again, against her body's wishes, tried to increase her speed as she closed the distance between herself and the horrific chariot._

Metatron quickly gathered Will, Kirjava and Pantalaimon onto his chariot, and bound them tightly before administering an even stronger dose of sleeping potion as a precaution.  Lyra reached the chariot of flames just as it was leaving the ground, its owner laughing with malicious delight.  "You bring them back!" Lyra shrieked furiously.  Her arms reached towards the sky as the chariot floated away, and her hands held only empty air.  "You hurt them! I hate you! I hate you! Let them go you monster!  Let them go!" she brokenly screamed as tears streamed down her face and the chariot became smaller and smaller in the sky until it vanished completely.  

Only a sneering laugh from above echoed through the empty plains.


	3. Apart 1

Will woke up in darkness, disoriented, with a dull pain in his chest and a stiffness in his limbs.  When he tried to shake out his stiffness, he discovered its source: he was tied up with chains.  As he struggled against his bonds, he tried to recall what had happened…he didn't remember much, just a bright orange chariot and a sudden shooting pain, and…Lyra! Where was Lyra?  If only he could twist his hands enough to reach his knife to free himself…no such luck.  As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Will scoured his surroundings for his daemon, a possible way out, or a tool that could help him escape.  He saw that he was in some sort of dungeon, and…though he couldn't see her, he could sense Kirjava nearby, in distress as well.  On the far wall, there was a closed door.  But that didn't help much, since he couldn't move…best to wait and see what happens he thought to himself, even though waiting to see what Metatron had in mind wasn't exactly the most appealing course of action for him.  Will leaned back, closed his eyes, and started to formulate possible plans of escape.

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Lyra woke up in sunlight, in the middle of a vast field where she had collapsed in exhaustion the night before.  Her clothes soaked in dew, and she covered in dirt and grass.  The second she realized she was awake, she sat up with a jolt and fought down the tears of helpless rage as the memories of the previous night invaded her being.  She wasted no time consulted her alethiometer.  

_Is Will okay?_

_Yes, he is unharmed._

_Are Pan and Kirjava with him?_

_Yes._

_Where are they?_

_In a dungeon of Metatron's castle in the northlands._

Lyra shuddered at that answer.

_Are they in great danger?_

_No, you are._

Lyra blinked with surprise at the alethiometer's answer, snapping her out of her trance-like state.  "Me?" she thought bewilderedly, "They all get captured in a great fire chariot and _I'm_ the one who's in danger?"  She turned back to the alethiometer, curious for more answers.

_Why am I in danger?_

_Metatron__ hates you._

That seemed obvious to Lyra, but still nothing made any sense. 

_How can I rescue Will?_

_Don't._

Lyra blinked again in surprise.  She checked the little golden compass again to make sure that she had read it correctly.  The needle confidently repeated its course: the answer remained the same.  Not rescue Will?  That was absurd!  Of course she had to help Will!  She decided to ask the alethiometer a different question.

_What is the shortest route to Metatron's castle?_

The alethiometer hesitated.  Lyra could tell that it didn't want to answer her.

_A three day hike through the mountains, and a two day journey through the northlands.___

_Is there a quicker way to go than walking?_

That hesitation again.  It was making her nervous.  But she just had to find Will.

_Yes._

_How?_

_You will meet a witch._

With that, Lyra straightened up, put her alethiometer back into its little rucksack, hurriedly packed the rest of her and Will's belongings, and proceeded to walk north towards the mountains looming in the distance.

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	4. Will

Will's eyes suddenly flew open as a wave of nausea gripped his body.  Kirjava!  The door opened, and Metatron, in his bright searing glory, entered holding a flailing Kirjava roughly in his arms. 

 "Put her down!" Will gasped, glaring at the monstrosity before him. 

 Metatron only smiled maliciously. 

 "There's something I want you to do for me," he calmly informed Will, stroking Kirjava's bristling fur tauntingly, sending another wave of dizziness through him.  

"Put her down," Will repeated coldly, trying to appear calm while choking back the sickness that was about to overwhelm him. 

 Metatron gazed at this weak little mortal with fierce eyes before him, and smiled with amusement.  

"Of course," Metatron replied with mock courtesy, and proceeded to place Kirjava on the cold stone floor.  

Will immediately felt less smothered, but still remained nauseated as Metatron's heavy hand on Kirjava's back prevented her from returning to Will.  Metatron sickeningly caressed Will's daemon, and looked searchingly into Will's eyes.  Will glared back unflinchingly, though he felt exposed and vulnerable.  Metatron's searching of Will's soul found fierce courage, undying loyalty, many layers of hurt and worry, and a great love for someone: Lyra.  Metatron's smile widened.  Yes, this was the one to do the job.

"Will, you're going to help me kill Lyra," Metatron informed him candidly.

Will's eyes widened with shock at the absurdity of that simple statement.  He thought of Lyra, her bravery, her stubbornness, her golden hair, her mouth…all that they had been through…fighting that first time, rescuing her from the cave, traveling to the underworld and back, the dust, the little red fruit and the kiss… His heart swelled with love for her, and worry with the thought of her being alone in that field, probably upset and  wondering where they went.  There was no way that he was going to kill her.  Then Will broke all of the tension that he'd been holding inside when he burst out laughing at the impossibility.

"You've chosen the wrong person," Will shook his head, still chuckling with bitter mirth.  "When you looked into my soul, you saw that I was a murderer.  This is true, yes, but you didn't understand.  I have never wanted to kill anyone.  And I will never ever _ever_ even _dream of hurting Lyra.  Lyra is the last person on this earth that I'd ever kill…I'd even kill myself before I could kill her."_

"Yes, I know," Metatron replied with satisfaction.  "But it is you who has misunderstood, not I.  I have looked into your soul and I have seen all that you are telling me now.  And that is _exactly_ why I've chosen you to do the task."

Will stopped short, worried now.  There hadn't been a misunderstanding.  Metatron actually does think that he could use him to kill Lyra.  Will was worried about Lyra's safety, being left all alone in the plains with a powerful murderous being seeking to destroy her while he was chained up and unable to protect her…but the fact remained the same.  There was no way he would hurt Lyra.  Ever.  But he didn't know what tricks Metatron had planned.  He had better get out of these shackles as soon as possible and escape before Metatron tried anything unexpected…  As Will calmly considered possible ways to trick Metatron into letting him go, Metatron continued his explanation with exaggerated patience.

"…And I know that you wouldn't want to kill Lyra.  But the reason that I'm choosing you is because you are the last person that Lyra wants to be killed by as well.  It would hurt her terribly."  Metatron smirked, waiting for Will's reaction.  

Will violently wanted to kill this horrible thing that wanted to hurt Lyra so badly.  He wanted to release all his anger and hate at him until he was gone and turned to dust.  But Will saw that Metatron was waiting, goading him for a reaction, and he knew that he was quite incapable of doing anything in his currently fettered state, and thought it wise to control himself.  But Will couldn't help that his eyes smoldered with helpless hate, or that his body tensed visibly with anger.  Will spoke forcefully and evenly through clenched teeth, annunciating each word in order to make his meaning abundantly clear to Metatron.

"I told you.  I'm not going to kill her."

"Of course not, child," Metatron agreed soothingly, his voice dripping with acid honey.  "That's why I have _this!"_

Metatron abruptly stopped petting the growling Kirjava and sprung up to Will and jerked his head back, forcing a vial of frothing fiery liquid down his throat before he even had time to react.  Kirjava immediately sprung up and sunk her teeth into Metatron's back and slashed furiously with her claws.  Will, likewise, was putting up a spectacular fight, especially for someone who did not have full use of his limbs.  He tried to jerk his head away and thrashed and tried to kick; anything to not swallow that vile potion that did God-knows-what.  Metatron once again smiled in amusement at this fierce little mortal and his futile thrashing and kicking.  Metatron had already managed to force down a swallow of the potion when he initially surprised Will, and that mouthful was already starting to take its effect, even as Will and Kirjava passionately fought on.  After several minutes and a good struggle, Will and Kirjava both lay still, their eyes glazed over and uncomprehending.

The potion, of course, has a negative effect on people.  It takes away their will and made them zombie-like…not unlike the people with their daemons cut away, or people attacked by specters.  The potion makes the drinker obey the will of whoever administers it.  But it wears off after one day.  But Metatron wasn't worried.  He had sent that witch out to meet Lyra, and he knew that Lyra would be here before the potion wore off.  Metatron scooped up a limp Kirjava, and placed her back into the cage next to the one containing Pantalaimon, who was pacing around agitatedly.   Then, he went back to Will and freed him from his chains.  Will did not stand up or make a rush for the door.  He fell back against the floor and hit his head with a sharp crack, but continued to smile indifferently at the ceiling.

"Stand up Will," Metatron ordered.  Will automatically stood up wordlessly.  "You bear the knife, do you not?"  Will nodded dumbly.  "Excellent.  You have your weapon already.  You're going to go out now, and walk south.  You will meet Lyra by a rocky ravine.  You will kill her."  Will nodded again.  Metatron turned away for a moment and retrieved something.  He placed a cloak around Will's stiff shoulders.  "Here is a cloak so that you won't freeze to death before you find her.  Go now.  Seek her out and kill her." Metatron smiled again with anticipation as Will blankly shuffled outside, waiting to kill Lyra.

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pleaseeeee! Tell me what you think! Absolute crap?  Worth continuing?  Tell me tell me tell me! even flames and one-liners are better than nothing!!  I live for reviews! :P


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